[Filburt]

Okay, so I thought I'd just chronicle my experience with it here from now on:

First Day - Tried them out, and was surprised by the soundstage and imaging, but thought they might have sounded a bit muffled, although the highs were definitely coming through strong. I went an AB'd it with other stuff and discovered that it was a combination of a number of factors. The first was that I wasn't used to having bass, as I was coming from my earbuds. The second was that it was pulling out so much detail that it was pulling out stuff that is just simply recessed to the point that I don't even notice it on other headphones, and so of course those details will sound a bit odd. Thirdly, the highs were a bit strong and it had the psychoacoustic effect of making the high mids seem recessed.

Second Day - I burned them in for a while, and also tried to get used to them. As I got used to them, I found they sounded less muffled to me, and I started to really appreciate the detail they brought out. I went over to episiarch's house to try out his Gilmore Lite, which I think is a pretty sweet amp by the way. He actually has a pretty darn cool rig going on over there with the Squeezebox. I also tried out the K501, SA5000, and CD3000, which I can elabourate on if people want, in terms of impressions. I found the K701s to perform favourably, and produce the most involving sound of the four. I liked the other three a lot, though, for various reasons. I hadn't heard the K501 in a nice setting and I must say the K701 really had a lot to live up to if it wanted to supplant them. In some ways, I think the 501 has a bit of an edge, such as in just straight clarity, but the 701 seemed more detailed and a lot more involving to me, and I think it may pick up the clarity over time provided burn-in exists.

This evening - I've been listening to some soul and acapella at the moment, and both sound positively fantastic on the K701. At first I was worrying that I was going to end up liking my earbuds better, but the K701s are definitely winning me over now. After hearing the 501s and remembering what the 880s sounded like compared to them (2005 model), I now understand why people compare the 701 so much to the 880. I think the 880 may be a bit brighter, though, but I pretty distinctly remember the 880 not turning out as nice a performance as the 701s do on rock and some of the techno I've ran through them.

Overall, the 701s are really growing on me, and they're nice and comfy to boot

Also, I just wanted to say thanks to episiarch, again, for all of his help and his letting me try his stuff

 

[theexec]

This is my 2nd day with the 701s, I'm loving them

need proper source and amp tho..

 

[Filburt]

Quote:

Originally Posted by theexec This is my 2nd day with the 701s, I'm loving them need proper source and amp tho..

Indeed. I'm liking it on my D-335 a lot. Paired with my PINT, it's pretty nice sound. I could probably do better, though...oh dear.

 

[theexec]

is D-335 your PCDP? I forgot all about trying it out on my discman until you mentioned it. I was only playing it through my crappy soundcard, or from soundcard to integrated amp's headphone out..

It seems to sound a lot better out of my discman!

 

[Filburt]

Quote:

Originally Posted by theexec is D-335 your PCDP? I forgot all about trying it out on my discman until you mentioned it. I was only playing it through my crappy soundcard, or from soundcard to integrated amp's headphone out.. It seems to sound a lot better out of my discman!

Yeah, it's a PCDP. It's my favourite Sony.

 

[NiceCans]

perhaps I have overlooked it reading so many 701 threads, but could you expound a bit on how the sound of the 701 compares to the 501?
I have seen some comparisons to the HD600 so have gained a bit of perspective, but although some have mentioned the 501 it seems to always stop there.
I need the 501 info to 'triangulate'

 

[Torzwo]

Yes, please expand on the comparison with the 501 which I received last week and am not too fond of.

 

[Filburt]

Okay, so I'll try to give a rough idea of what it sounds like to use the K501s and the K701s side by side.

When I switched from the 701s to the 501s, I noticed that the 501s seemed to have more presence in the upper mids. However, upon closer inspection, I am not entirely sure if this is true. The problem is that the 701s have substantially more warmth down below, and their placement of the music has a lot more of a 'surrounds you' sort of effect, so I think maybe some of its apparent clarity at this range is due to not having the other elements there to distract. The 501s sound pretty lean compared to the 701s, and a more distant presentation. It's not that things were always necessarily further away sounding, but it didn't have this sort of feeling that the music was all over. I think the 701s may have been more detailed as well, although I couldn't quite tell on some stuff. I do think the 701s were better on the Foreigner, Sting, and Pink Floyd albums I tried. I kind of liked the 501s better in some ways on the Mark Cohn tracks I tried on episiarch's Squeezebox. It seemed to be a bit clearer on the guitar. However, on the 501, Mark's voice just sounded like it was coming through whereas on the 701 it sounded like he was whispering over my shoulder, or something of that sort. It just had a really involving sort of presentation to it that the 501 lacked.

So I think, if you're going for utmost clarity, the 501 might be better. It's hard to tell since his 501s are thoroughly broken in and my 701s are only a couple days old with a few hours on them. However, I don't think the 701s sound muffled/muddy even compared to the 501 in general, and I think they have a much more involving sort of sound to them, with more low end kick and warmth, more instrument/element separation, and possibly more detail. They are also a bit easier to drive. I really liked the 501s also, though, so don't get the impression that I didn't. They can be really nice for certain types of music, but I think the 701 is probably a better all rounder. After hearing the CD3000 and SA5000 also, I disagree with some of the people who say the 701 doesn't shine at anything. I really think it does a very nice job on a lot of types of music and seems to have a distinct ability to keep different elements of the music separate, even amongst a cluttered mess of sounds that overwhelms some headphones.

If you need more detail, let me know. Also help me out with terminology as I don't know it so well

 

[ferraro25]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Filburt I really think it does a very nice job on a lot of types of music and seems to have a distinct ability to keep different elements of the music separate, even amongst a cluttered mess of sounds that overwhelms some headphones.

Good! One thing I really want from a high-end headphone is very good instrument separation. I don't get very good separation from any of my current headphones, with the K 81 DJs being damn near horrible in that category (but they are only $70, so I shouldn't necessarily expect much in the first place), where, in any busy music, and even some non-busy music, everything starts to blend together. The HD-595s are probably the best I currently have at instrument separation (though still not very good at it), but as I have mentioned a million times before, I can't stand their muffled sound signature, so that basically doesn't matter.

I am looking forward to hearing more of your comments on the K701s.

 

[robm321]

I would definately burn them in for more than 2 days before you say whether the 501 has more clarity.

 

[jim580]

Hi Filburt,
I mean absolutely no offence, but comparing the 701's to anything before they have 4 or 5 hundred hours on them is shear folly and unfair.
You might not believe me now, but you will.

Anyway.......Enjoy them!
Best,
Jim

~

 

[Filburt]

Quote:

Originally Posted by ferraro25 Good! One thing I really want from a high-end headphone is very good instrument separation. I don't get very good separation from any of my current headphones, with the K 81 DJs being damn near horrible in that category (but they are only $70, so I shouldn't necessarily expect much in the first place), where, in any busy music, and even some non-busy music, everything starts to blend together. The HD-595s are probably the best I currently have at instrument separation (though still not very good at it), but as I have mentioned a million times before, I can't stand their muffled sound signature, so that basically doesn't matter. I am looking forward to hearing more of your comments on the K701s.

Well, if you get the 701s, I definitely advise listening to them for a while before rendering judgment. Episiarch said he thought the K701s were a bit muffled compared to the K501s also, which I agreed with at first but found that, upon further listening, the impression seemed to be caused by the 701's significantly greater level of low end body. When a headphone is relatively cold, it seems to give a greater impression of clarity at first glance, anyhow. The 701 definitely does not sound like a Sennheiser to me, which sound so muffled that I can't get over it no matter how many times I listen to them. I am very big on instrument separation, too, so I can certainly sympathise with your preferences

 

[Filburt]

Quote:

Originally Posted by robm321 I would definately burn them in for more than 2 days before you say whether the 501 has more clarity.

I got asked to elabourate on my impressions, so I did. You can disagree with me on what you think about these two headphones, but it isn't going to change what my impression was. I already put a clear and visible disclaimer about the state of the two headphones in terms of burn-in. I also tried to explain the psychoacoustic phenomena that may explain the impression. I tried to satisfy the request made of me and attempted to be as helpful as possible in explaining it.

Quote:

Originally Posted by jim580 Hi Filburt, I mean absolutely no offence, but comparing the 701's to anything before they have 4 or 5 hundred hours on them is shear folly and unfair. You might not believe me now, but you will. Anyway.......Enjoy them! Best, Jim ~

I put a disclaimer that they aren't well burned in, so people will know to take this into account. Considering the controversy over whether burn-in with these headphones even exists at all, it at least seems reasonable to think that it isn't a given that it was an unfair comparison. Nonetheless, I wasn't even disparaging them. I thought they turned in a very satisfying performance, actually.

 

[NiceCans]

Thanks Filburt, I appreciate the input.

And yes I understand about the lack of burn-in at this point with yours as I have read alot about the need for it on K701.

 

[Filburt]

Quote:

Originally Posted by NiceCans Thanks Filburt, I appreciate the input. And yes I understand about the lack of burn-in at this point with yours as I have read alot about the need for it on K701.

You're welcome

I forgot to mention that on Foreigner's "Double Vision", on the 501s the chorus where Lou's voice is on both sides is clear, but slightly distant sounding and lacking some body. On the K701, it's much more holographic and realistic sounding as well as having a more 'breathy' character to it. In effect, it's much more like being surrounded by the voice. If you have any other questions about the difference between the two, let me know and I'll do my best to satisfy the request.

At first I was not so much enjoying the 701's spacing out of different elements of the music as I was used to the sort of upfront nature of my earbuds, but now I'm really enjoying it. It's a very involving headphone I find. I've been having some friends and family listen to them and both my brother and one of my friends seem to really want to get a pair themselves, now. As I mentioned in another thread, my brother was/is a big fan of the DT880 also and he seemed to really like the K701 as well.